As owner of Selected Escapes, Shawn Retstatt brings his solid relationships with top travel agents and his background as a hotel General Manager to this well established company, now operating for over 25 years.
Born in Arkansas and raised in California and Texas, Shawn attended New York University after a 10 year career as a competitive figure skater. Upon graduation from NYU, he made NYC his permanent home and began his profession in the hotel industry. After less than one year at The Inn at Irving Place, Shawn was promoted to General Manager, a position he held for 17 years.
Maintaining the reputation of the Inn, a member of Small Luxury Hotels and a truly unique and exquisite hotel in the busy NYC marketplace, was only one of Shawn’s responsibilities. During his tenure at The Inn, he established their famous afternoon tea service at Lady Mendl’s Tea Salon, which grew into one of the most popular tea salons in the city; he was also responsible for expanding the room inventory by converting nearby apartments to create 52 Irving Residences as an integral part of The Inn’s room options.
